GENIUS, ISOLATED: THE LIFE AND ART OF ALEX TOTH
by Dean Mullaney and Bruce Canwell
Alex Toth is revered as one of the greatest of all comics artists.
Others laud his pioneering work in animation, including his
groundbreaking designs for Space Ghost and The Herculoids. His work
influenced countless professionals in both fields. His biography and
talents proved too big to be contained in a single volume. Therefore,
The Library of American Comics and IDW is releasing the much-
anticipated Genius, Isolated: The Life and Art of Alex Toth in March
2011 as the first in a three-book set that will be the definitive
statement on the restless genius and timeless legacy of Alex Toth.
Created by the Eisner Award-winning team of Dean Mullaney and Bruce
Canwell—who produced the ground-breaking Scorchy Smith and the Art of
Noel Sickles—Genius, Isolated is a lavishly illustrated book that
includes the first biography of this giant figure. The book has been
compiled with complete access to the family archives, and with the
full cooperation of Toth's children.
Creative Director Dean Mullaney and Associate Art Director Lorraine
Turner met with Toth's two eldest children, Dana and Eric, to discuss
the expansive plans for the three-book set. "It's been a great
pleasure getting to know them over the past two years," said Mullaney,
who worked with Alex Toth to publish the definitive Zorro editions in
the 1980s. "To say that we're all excited with the larger scope of the
project is an understatement!"
In addition to art and photographs from the family, Toth fans and
friends throughout the world have loaned original artwork reproduced
in the entire series. Included are many examples of Toth's art, from
complete stories to rare pages, as well as—incredulously—a previously
unknown, unfinished, and unpublished penciled story from the early
1950s! The tome covers his earliest stories at DC in the 1940s, his
defining work at Standard, his incomparable Zorro comics in the
1950s, and a special section collects—for the first time—the complete
Jon Fury pages that Toth produced while in the army, a section that
alone is worth the price of admission.
Alex Toth was more than a unique and influential artist. He was a
keenly insightful philosopher about comics, cartooning, and animation—
with opinions on how they are created as opposed to how he felt they
should be created. He wasn't shy about expressing those thoughts,
whether in sometimes-scathing personal letters, essays for
publication, or letters to the editor. To flesh out the complete story
of his life and art, Mullaney and Canwell have spent more than a year
conducting wide-ranging interviews with dozens of Toth's peers,
friends, and family members. With a special introduction by Mark
Chiarello, Genius, Isolated is the beginning of a comics biography
everyone will be talking about for years to come.
Genius, Isolated details Toth's life story and work through the early
1960s, when he began his sensational move into animated cartoons. The
second book in the series, Genius, Illustrated, picks up the story as
Toth becomes one of the leading character designers in television
animation—continues through his renewed career in comics with Warren,
DC, and his creator-owned properties of the 1970s and beyond—and
includes an examination of the artist's poignant final years.
The third book, Genius, Animated, is a lavish art book reproducing
hundreds of Toth's model sheets and storyboards for such successful
cartoons as Space Ghost and Dino Boy, Jonny Quest, Space Angel, Super
Friends, The Fantastic Four, Hot Wheels, Thundarr, and Shazzan…and
also includes many full-color presentation pieces designed to sell new
series to the networks.
A slipcase for the three-book set will be available with the third book.
Beau Smith-Director Of Marketing
The Library Of American Comics
P.O. Box 706
Ceredo, WV. 25507
304-453-6565
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